Virtual machines can be hosted by hypervisors, which provide a virtual operating platform. Virtual machines may load or boot a guest operating system, which runs on the virtual operating platform. In large data centers, virtual machines can be booted on a hypervisor on the fly or as needed. As the virtual machine is booted data from a virtual file system can be provided by the hypervisor. The data used for booting the virtual machine can also be provided via a network connection; in this case the network can provide the data for booting the virtual machine without storing it on the hypervisor or a virtual disk volume local to the hypervisor.